Trump's Trials - Trump wants to stop states from voting by mail and using voting machines

Episode Date: August 19, 2025

President Trump announced Monday on his social media site, Truth Social, that he plans to "lead a movement" to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines in the country ahead of next year's midterm elections. NPR's Ashley Lopez reports.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detrow, and this is Trump's Terms from NPR. We're going to be doing all sorts of things. Nobody ever thought was even possible. President Trump has brought back string to the White House. We can't just ignore the president's desires. This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode, we bring you one of NPR's latest stories about the 47th president, and now he is trying to remake the federal government.

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Mr. May Martinez, President Trump is using his social media site to say he plans to sign an executive order barring states from using mail ballots and potentially some voting machines. But experts say Trump does not have the legal authority to tell states how to conduct their elections. Here's NPR's Ashley Lopez. Trump said he wants to lead a movement to get rid of mail ballots and voting machines in the country. This is why he told reporters he's planning to sign an executive order that will stop states from using either. And we as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots. We're going to start with an executive order that's being written right now by the best lawyers

in the country. Trump says he wants mail ballots eliminated ahead of next year's midterms because more Democrats vote this way compared to Republicans. And it's time that the Republicans get tough and stop it because the Democrats want it. It's the only way they can get elected. Despite Trump's political rationale for all this, legal experts warn that this isn't actually something he has the legal authority to tell.

tell states to do. There's really nothing that the executive branch can do on its own in terms of direct mandates. That's Michael Morley. He's a professor at Florida State University College of Law. He says the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to regulate federal elections. That explicitly set forth in the Constitution with regard to congressional elections, right, the Supreme Court has recognized that Congress has equivalent power over presidential elections. And if he wanted to change this, Trump would have to go through Congress. Matt Jermmer with the right of center, R Street Institute, a D.C. based think tank, says he doesn't think that's a good idea. He should be careful what he is wishing for. Election policy is best handled at the state level or even the local level in some circumstances. He's opening the door for other Washington, D.C. politicians, including Democrats, to push through their favorite election policies the next time they take power. And voting rights advocates say they're worried this kind of overreach will hurt voters who are used to voting by May.

According to a federal survey of election officials last year, about a third of the electorate voted by mail. Barbara Smith-Warner is with the National Vote at Home Institute. Efforts to eliminate this are ignoring the facts and really are just trying to undermine confidence in our elections overall. She said this is a power grab ahead of next year's midterm elections where control of Congress is at stake. Ashley Lopez and PR News. Before we wrap up, a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org.

I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR. Thank you.